This shift means that the visitor rather than the local now has the best opportunity to find positive plays, simply because scoring a room comp is so valuable, especially since room comps usually include resort fees. If you get, say, a couple of free weeknights at the Golden Buzzard, that’s worth at least $100 (and more like $200 at its sister Strip property, the Diamond Commode). In order to get perks of equal value as a local (bounceback and such), you’d have to stuff the GNP of Bolivia into some VP machine, and do it in a 24-hour period, at that. But you don’t need to shed that kind of blood if you’re a tourist. That’s because the casinos view you as a clueless idiot if you don’t have an 891xx zip code. Therefore, the proper tactic is to cultivate and nurture that impression. One example of such a tactic is to spend an hour or so each visit playing goober slots. It’s fun, and as long as you hold back on the amount per spin, not even all that costly. I caught on to this ploy some time ago, and at many casinos, I magically changed from getting one mailer a year offering $0.15 free play and a message saying “Eat plutonium and die, video poker-playing slime!” to heaps of mail every week begging me to “Please please PLEEEEEEASE grace our establishment once again; we’ll pay for your room and arrange for nubile maidens to hand-feed you grapes in between your gaming sessions!” The magic elixir was usually $200 or less of penny/nickel goober slot play.